I Am Your Father

Section 1

Mark 10:6-9 - “From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Ephesians 6:12 - “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

“Marriage is physical and emotional, but more than anything else, marriage is spiritual. We have an enemy who seeks to steal our hearts, kill our hope, and destroy our marriages. Our struggle against this enemy is what we know as spiritual warfare.” (Justin and Trisha Davis)

James 1:14-15 - “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

Psalm 127:1-5 - “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”

Psalm 127 (The Message) - “Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you; you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.”

Is your family filled with the weight of God?

Pray

Nothing is off limits.

Talk to Him like you mean it.

Speak life

Proverbs 18:21 - “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

Develop healthy rhythms

Romans 5:6,8 - “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly…but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

“Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented Himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway….But God put His love on the line for us by offering His Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.” (Eugene Petersen)

Psalm 68:5 - “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in His holy habitation.”

Isaiah 64:8 - “But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”

Jeremiah 31:16-17 - “Thus says the Lord: ‘Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work,’ declares the Lord, ‘and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future,’ declares the Lord, ‘and your children shall come back to their own country.’”

Isaiah 54:5 - “For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is His name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth He is called.”